- try to watch Pik Live TV the next day, and NO GO!... all I get is a black/blank screen, with a very small white rectangle appearing in the very top left corner of the screen... upon closer inspection, the white rectangle seems to contain the bottom half of a green Android icon (cut off)

- the only fix is to clear the cache and data for the Pik TV app (that worked once), or, having to completely reinstall the Pik TV app

- also tried a FULL RESET of the box and full re-initialization of everything (what a time-consuming pain...)... yes this brings it back into working order, but sadly, for only 1 day

received my new Pik box yesterday... installed and set it up carefully... all was brought up to date... did NOT activate the sleep function this time

all was good, watched Pik Live TV and Netflix last night... worked with NO issues (except of course poor picture quality on Pik TV channels...)

then turned off both the box and TV using the remote and went to bed

woke up today, gave it a try: turned on the box and TV, went to watch Pik TV -- and instead got a black/blank screen with a tiny white rectangle in the very upper top left corner of screen -- same as before!.. can't watch Pik TV

I'm at a loss now... how could 2 boxes both be bad?... I suspect it's not the box(es) at all, but rather the software or Pik system?

again, I am connected hardwired with ethernet

the only thing I can think of is that my router is on a timer to turn off at night... so it reboots every morning (but really, how could this possibly "break" Pik TV?... surely, Pik can recover from a power outage or router re-boot?)

any idea, I'm at my wit's end now... I want to like PIK, but it just doesn't work

not to deviate on this thread, but I am *already* connected to my Pik TV box using ethernet (not wireless), plus have Telus Internet 25 plan and a newer Telus router, so my signal feed to the box should be excellent

to be clear: when I say I have "poor" picture quality when watching Pik TV, I am saying that the resolution is not actually true HD, and the picture is just not crisp enough, has some mild artifacting here and there (especially around text), and generally has a dull, low-contrast picture -- when compared to the picture quality I get watching Netflix on the Pik TV box, OR, when I watch TV stations over-the-air using my $40 antenna... even my teen daughter switches over to the antenna signal when watching a channel thatwe can reach that way!

again, it seems that somewhere upstream, Telus is (heavily) compressing the Pik TV signal, most likely to reduce bandwidth and provide a more stable watching experience for those connection to their Pik box using wireless or on mobile devices???... I can understand that, but for me anyway, the quality is just a wee bit too far below what I would say is acceptable or expected in this day and age of 4K screens, etc.... I am not using 4K,, but a a plain old 1080P screen on an older Panasonic plasma 42"

funny thing is, some stations seem to be better than others... for example, CTV seems pretty decent, while CNN is a real disappointment when compared to a proper higher quality signal

I know the Pik TV box itself can produce perfect HD, because watching Netflix through it is just fine... great quality there

I have asked around, but so far, no one can state what the level of compression or actual definition level is for the Pik TV channels

too bad the Pik TV box is not able to automatically provide ethernet-connected users with a better quality signal somehow, or perhaps use more buffering to provide even wireless-connected users with a better quality feed?... that would be GREAT! (somehow, Netflix seems to do this on any box I've ever used)

maybe we should have another thread dedicated to Pik TV picture quality, how to maximize it, etc............

(anyway, none of this even matters for me, unless I can get my Pik TV to start up and work past 1 day!)

Your local wireless network is faster than your internet connection by factor of 4x to 16x, so any compression Telus is doing is more likely to address the WAN (internet) side of of the delivery, rathe than the LAN side.

Streaming of 4K television signal could consume your whole 25Mbps stream , which would be one reason for compression, even 1080p would be expected to consume about 6Mbps. Telus streams the programming received from the suppliers to all subscribers who meet the minimum data bandwidth, whether on copper or Fibre. It is compressed for the least common denominator. In addition, the supplier may be choosing the stream to send Telus for this purpose.

Finally, Telus offers Optik for those wanting a top-tier TV experience. PikTV is set to not compete with that offering.

- after "fixing" the problem yesterday by hitting "home" button twice (quickly), and turning the Pik TV app off ("X"), then having it start up again (load), all was good yesterday and last night... I even tried the sleep function, and it woke up fine... I was pretty encouraged

- this morning, I give it a try... turn on box, and BACK TO BLACK SCREEN (with tiny white rectangle in upper left corner of screen, with green Android icon inside)!!!

- go home, down to Pik app, select it to start and I get error pop-up "check your internet connectivity".... then after a few minutes, error changes to "application load timeout"

- turn Telus box off then back on... then try again, ie., go home, down to Pik app, select it to start... Pik app startup loading screen (with spinning dots) comes on, spins a bit, then stops at 1 dot only and just sits there like that

- I go back to home, down to Pik app, select it to start... this time I get a solid gray/blue screen (never happened before), then just sits there

- I go back home, to Google Play store app, to my apps, choose Pik TV then press "open"... Pik TV finaly starts up and seems to run fine

- ARRRRGGGGHHH... why can't I just turn on the box and have this start up each day without multiple reboots, restarts, etc., etc. until it finally works (maybe)?

- and, if I ever have to wipe it all / clear data, that means re-entering all my credentials which is very slow and painful using the remote picker

I have my router turn off overnight everyday for several reasons, and I know other people who do the exact same:

- control/limit access to wireless by my kids late at night... at some point, you just have to cut them off

- save energy (reduce phantom loads)

- security peace of mind: with the unit (and my wireless) completely off, I don't have to care at all about anyone hacking in (even though I use security)

- reduce heat and thus wear & tear on the router

- I get a fresh re-boot of the router every morning (the often-touted fix for many connectivity problems)

turning the router off/on is no different than experiencing a power outage, and I would think that Pik TV should be able to pick up again and function after a power outage??? (I know some people who live in areas where they can get several outages per year easily)

also, I have tried testing by restarting my router on purpose (when my Pik TV was actually working), and, it started up fine after that

Q: is there a way that I can configure my settings on the Telus box to reduce any possible problems with IP assignment? (I saw something in the menu about DHCP, etc.)

PS: today was the first time that the system displayed any error about internet connection... before this, I had multiple black screen failure with no such warnings

note: I can see in my Telus box under Settings > Network > IP Settings where I can choose between "DHCP" or "Static", but sure how to proceed there, or if this has anything to to with it

The usual process would be to set a static IP address in your router outside the DHCP range which you want to assign to a device, and then mirror that IP address in the device. In some instances, it is as simple as setting the static IP address, again outside the DHCP range, on the device, and the router respects that assignment.